The present invention relates generally to a full thickness resection device. More specifically, the invention provides a device and method for controlling a full thickness resection device.
Known resection devices have been employed to staple and cut tissue surrounding a lesion site to remove lesions from patients"" bodies. A known resection device for performing resection procedures endoscopically through naturally occurring body orifices has included a flexible portion extending from an operating end, or distal end, of the device, which is inserted into the patient""s body, to a control end, or proximal end, of the device, which remains outside of the patient""s body. The control end may include a control handle which may be manipulated to control cutting and stapling apparatuses of the device.
In order to maintain flexibility of that portion of the device extending between the control handle and the distal end, these resection devices have employed flexible drive shafts to transmit an actuating force from the control handle to the distal end of the device. However, as such a flexible drive shaft is rotated in the first direction to operate the stapling mechanism, torsional energy is stored therein. When the force driving the drive shaft in the first direction is removed, the stored torsional energy may urge the drive shaft to rotate in the second direction, actuating the cutting mechanism, before such a rotation is desired.
The present invention is directed to a control mechanism for a resectioning device, comprises a first actuator coupled to a flexible drive shaft for actuating a first mechanism when operated in a first direction and for actuating, when operated in a second direction, a second mechanism and a first lockout mechanism coupled to the first actuator for preventing actuation of the first actuator in the second direction before a predetermined amount of actuation in the first direction has been completed. Furthermore, mechanisms are provided to control the release during operation in a second direction of torsional energy stored in a flexible drive shaft during operation in a first direction and to prevent mistaken operation of resectioning mechanisms by locking out a first actuator whenever a second actuator is operable.